Water cooler



April 6, 1954 w. P. HILL 2,674,106

WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 7, 1951 INVENTOR.

3/ BY 3 %:M4MI 0L Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER COOLER Walter P." Hill, Pontiac, Mich.

Application December 7, 1951, Serial No. 260,400

Claims. 1;

This invention relates generally to; water coolers' and more particularly to an improved unitary refrigerant or cooling unit,

It is an object of this invention to provide, an improved unitary refrigerant unit which. is: adapted to be placed in and encompassed by a housing. or; body structure to provide an attractivewatercooler.

It is astill further object of this invention to provide arefrigerating. unit of the aforementioned 11-;

type, in which water flowing therethrough from a conventional watersupplysource will be cooled to the. desired temperature, in a short period of time and through. a minimum length of evaporator tubing;

It is a still further obiect'oi this, invention to provide in a; refrigerating unit of the aforementioned type, an evaporator, condenser and compressorinterconnected with and arranged relav tive: to each other in such a manner as to obtain themaximum refrigerating or cooling efficiency.v

It is a still further object of this invention to! provide an improved evaporator in which the re,- frigerant and, water tubes are constructed and arranged relativev to each other to provide maximum water cooling efiiciency.

It is a still further object 01E this invention to, pr vid a suppo ng fr -me structu for support n t e lements of the refrigeratin unit a, simple, inexpensive and improved manner and so as to permit the refrigerating unit to be removed: homer-i rte into a decorative housing, in a simple and speedy manner.

These and other objects of this invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed, description, taken in conjunction with: the accomdeny ng.l ra ng, in, which;

v iligure-l is. a i ontel vational. iew-o ate oo er mb dyi gi rat ne u it; o th s nvent Figure) is arear elevationalvievu of the, structure illustrated in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional, view of the structure illustrated in Figure 1-, taken along the line; 3.-3 thereof Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Figure 1, taken along the line- 4.ll thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 4, taken along theline 5-5 thereof; and

i 6 is a s tional vi w o the structure illuse l t F s- .ta en along the lin *6 thereof.-

R f rri no o t dr w ng. itawi l; be seen et e ter coo r embo es. asuitablehousine;

,- bottom thereof, with a plurality of air vents l3,

and the back wall of the housing! has an opening therein covered by a plate or door I5. Theplate; or door it has air vents ll adjacent the upper end thereof and air vents l9 adjacent the lower end thereof, disposed in an opposed relationship to the front wall air vents [3 The back wall of the housing 1 also has an opening 2| therein, through. which a conduit extends to connect the refrigerating unit with a conventionalwater supipl'y source, and a second opening 23, through which water may drain from a suitablebowl 25, supported in the upper end, of the housing'l. A drinking spout 21: is disposed above the topof the housing 1. and bowl 25, and suitable actuating means are, of course, provided to permit the; water to be turned on and oil.

The refrigerating unit 9. is of the unitary type, that is, all of the element of the refrigerating olement are carried by a supporting framework 29. The supporting framework includes a pair of, opposed vertically extending posts or straps 3|, which have their lower ends rigidly and detachablyconnectedat 33 with the bottom wall 35 of, the housing I, adjacent the base II. Connected with the supporting framework 29, adjacent tothe housingair vents. i3 and I1, at, the bottom of the housing, isa condenser 31 of any suitable or well known type. Supported above the condenser. 31 is a fan 39, the blades of which are surrounded by a shroud M, The fan 39, of course, incorporates a suitablemotor which, when plugged into n; electr c, source, causes the blades to draw air upwar ly thr u h. the condenser c i s, and. be.- cause. of. the housing l w r vents l3 and I9 and the upper vent I! an induction draft effect is. obtained, which aids in an efficient flow of air upwardly through the condenser. A suitable compressor 43v is connected with the, framework 29 at 45 above the fan 39 and condenser 31. By mount.- ing the compressor above the fan and. condenser, the condenser is more efiiciently cooled than if. the compressor and condenser locations were reversed, wherein the hot air from the compressor would be blown over the condenser coils.

Supported above the compressor on the framework 29 is an evaporator ll, which is completely enclosed by insulating material 49. The evaporator is, of course, provided with suitable expansion. valves and thelike, and includes a coil of tubing- 5i which:v surrounds and is. concentric with an inner coil of tubing 53. The tubing 53 carries water through the evaporator from the suitable water supply source to the drinking spout 21. A reservoir tank may be provided between the drinking spout and the outlet end of the tube 53, or the tube 53 may be of a large enough diameter to provide a reservoir of cool water so that when the water spout is actuated, the user will always .have cool water to drink. a

It should at this time be noted that the tubing 53 is of the finned tube type, wherein a plurality of fins extend around and along the entire length of the tubing 53 in closely spaced relationship relative to each other. Finned tubing in and of itself is well known and further description thereof is not thought to be necessary. It should, however, be pointed out that the tubing 53 is preferably constructed so that the outer portions thereof or the portions thereof exposed to refrigerant, such as Freon, which flows in the outer tubing have approximately three times as much surface so exposed as the inner periphery or inside diameter of the tubing, for a reason which will be hereinafter pointed out. As in most refrigerating systems, the outlet of the condenser 37 is connected by a suitable conduit 51, including a suitable capillary tube portion which acts as an expansion member, to the inlet end of the evaporator 41. The outlet end of the evaporator outer tubing 5| is connected with the inlet end of the compressor by a suiable conduit 59. The output side of the compressor is in turn connected with the inlet end or top of the condenser by a suitable conduit 6!, to provide an operating refrigerating or cooling unit.

A drain 63 is provided in the bottom of the drinking bowl 25 and connected with the drain for carrying waste water from the bowl is a pipe or precooler 65. The precooler extends downwardly through the evaporator and out through the opening 23 in the back wall of the housing I. The conduit 51, which extends from the condenser to the inlet end of the evaporator, contacts the precooler or drain pipe 65 so that the refrigerant liquid is precooled by the draining water before it goes into the evaporator. Such precooling, of course, aids in providing a more efficient refrigerating or cooling system and pre vents flashing and the waste of any of the refrigerant in the evaporating cycle.

It was previously pointed out that the evaporator water tube 53 was of a finned construction so as to have approximately three times as much surface exposed to the Freon as the inside diameter of the tube through which the water is flowing. This ratio of three to one has been chosen because the relationship between the condensing film coefficient of a refrigerating liquid such as Freon, and water is approximately three to one. This results from the fact that if the condensing film coefiicient of water is taken as a standard, at 1,000, the condensing film coefiicient 4 24.4 feet of plain surfaced tubing to transfer the same number of B. t. u. per hour.

It will thus be seen that an improved water cooler construction is provided, in which the refrigerating or cooling unit is of the unitary type wherein it can be removed from or inserted into a housing as a complete unit and all of the elements of which are carried on a suitable supporting framework structure. It will furthermore be appreciated that a moreeflicient water cooler is provided in view of the arrangement and relationship between the compressor, condenser and evaporator and because of the provision of air vents adjacent the bottom of the cooler so that the elements may be more efiiciently cooled and the temperatures thereof maintained at a minimum.

,Still further it will be appreciated that an improved evaporator is provided, in which the water is cooled in a more rapid manner and through a shorter lineal length of tubing. Thus, the water cooler of this invention is not only more efiicient in all stages of its operation, but is more easily handled and more compact and rigid in construction than such units heretofore provided.

What is claimed is:

1. A water cooler unit adapted to be enclosed by housing means and connected with a water supply source, including a supporting frame structure, a condenser supported by said structure and adapted to be disposed adjacent an air inlet opening in the housing means adjacent the bottom thereof, a fan disposed above said condenser for drawing air therethrough and directing the same upwardly, a compressor supported on said structure above said fan and connected with said compressor, an evaporator supported on said structure above said compressor, insulating means sealing off said evaporator from the portion of the housing therebelow, an air outlet in said housing below said insulating means, said evaporator including a tube having a finned outer periphery through the interior of which water flows, one end of said tube being connectable to the water supply source and the other end pro'- viding a water outlet, a second tube surrounding said water tube in spaced relation thereto and connected with said compressor and said condenser, through which refrigerant is adapted to fiow to cool the water in the inner evaporator tube.

-' structure, a condenser supported by said structure and adapted to be disposed adjacent an air inlet opening in the housing means adjacent the bottom thereof, a fan disposed above said condenser for drawing'air therethrough and direct-' ing the same upwardly, a compressor supported on said structure above said fan and connected with said condenser, an evaporator supported on said structure above said compressor, insulating means enclosing said evaporator, said evaporator including a tube having a finned outer periphery through the interior of which water flows, one end of said tube being connectable to the water supply source and the other end providing a water outlet, a second tube, surrounding said water tube in spaced relation thereto and connected with said compressor and said condenser, through which refrigerant is adapted to flow to cool the water in the inner evaporator tube, said first tube having approximately three times as much area exposed to the refrigerant flowing through said outer evaporator tube as said first tube has inner area exposed to the water flowing therethrough.

8. A water cooler including a cooling unit enclosed by housing means, a supporting frame stucture disposed in said housing means and removably connected therewith, a condenser supported by said structure and disposed adjacent the bottom of said housing means, said housing means having an inlet opening adjacent the bottom thereof and said condenser and an outlet opening disposed above said condenser, a fan supported on said supporting structure and disposed above said condenser for drawing air therethrough and directing the same upwardly out through said housing outlet opening, a compressor supported on said supporting structure above said fan, an evaporator supported on said supporting structure above said compressor, insulating material sealing off said evaporator from the portion of the housing therebelow, said evaporator including a tube having a finned outer periphery through which water is adapted to flow, one end of said tube being connectable to a water supply source and the other end providing a water outlet, a bowl supported on said housing means above said evaporator, a drinking spout supported on said housing means and connected to said evaporator water tube, an outlet conduit communicating with the bottom of said bowl and extending downwardly through said evaporator for carrying away water in said bowl, said evaporator including a second tube surrounding said finned water tube in spaced relation thereto, said second tube being connected with said compressor and said condenser for carrying refrigerant to cool the water in the inner water tube.

4. A water cooler including a cooling unit enclosed by housing means, a supporting frame structure disposed in said housing means and removably connected therewith, a condenser supported by said structure and disposed adjacent the bottom of said housing means, said housing means having an inlet opening adjacent the bottom thereof and said condenser and an outlet opening disposed above said condenser, a fan supported on said supporting structure and disposed above said condenser for drawing air therethrough and directing the same upwardly out through said housing outlet opening, a compressor supported on said supporting structure above said fan, an evaporator supported on said supporting structure above said compressor and above said outlet opening, insulating material sealing 01f said evaporator from the portion of the housing therebelow, said evaporator including a tube having a finned outer periphery through which water is adapted to flow, one end of said tube being connectable to a water supply source and the other end providing a water outlet, a bowl supported on said housing means above said evaporator, a drinking spout supported on said housing means and connected to said 6 evaporator water tube, an outlet conduit communicating with the bottom of said bowl and extending downwardly through said evaporator for carrying away water in said bowl, said evaporator including a second tube surrounding said finned water tube in spaced relation thereto, said second tube being connected with said compressor and said condenser for carrying refrigerant to cool the water in the inner water tube, a portion of said evaporator refrigerant tube contact- .ing said drain conduit so that cool water draining said conduit will cool the refrigerant flowing through said second tube.

5. A water cooler including a cooling unit enclosed by housing means, a supporting frame ing means having an inlet opening adjacent the bottom thereof and said condenser and an outlet opening disposed above said condenser, a fan supported on said supporting structure for drawing air through said condenser and directing the same upwardly out through said hous- ,ing outlet opening, a compressor supported on said supporting structure above said fan, an evaporator supported on said supporting structure above said compressor, insulating material surrounding said evaporator, said evaporator including a tube having a finned outer periphery through which water is adapted to flow, one end of said tube being connectable to a water supply source and the other end providing a water outlet, a bowl supported on said housing means above said evaporator, a drinking spout supported on said housing means and connected to said evaporator water tube, an outlet conduit communicating with the bottom of said bowl and extending downwardly through said evaporator for carrying away water in said bowl, said evaporator including a second tube surrounding said finned water tube in spaced relation thereto, said second tube being connected with said compressor and said condenser for carrying refrigerant to cool the water in the inner Water tube, said first tube having approximately three times as much area exposed to the refrigerant flowing through said outer evaporator tube as said first tube has inner area exposed to water flowing therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,829,408 King Oct. 27, 1931 1,854,619 Mortensen Apr. 19, 1932 1,964,890 Neeson July 3, 1934 2,051,874 Macready Aug. 25, 1936 2,108,898 Lyons Feb. 22, 1938 2,220,726 Newcum Nov. 5, 1940 2,529,781 Morrison Nov. 14, 1950 

